10 Wrestling Finishers That Unleashed Raw And Brutal Power

They're the moves that make us gasp, peek through our fingers, or cheer out loud, even when we're at home on the couch for a pay-per-view or premium live event. They're the moves we as backyard wrestlers practiced on the trampoline on our friends and siblings while our parents weren't looking. A wrestler's finishing move is a masterpiece, carefully crafted and executed to deliver that final blow to their opponent with focused fury and devastation.

Wrestling fans have seen so many iterations of finishers over the years, from submissions to straight-up knock-out punches, but what are the best finishers, the ones that unleash raw and brutal power on an opponent? The finishing moves that more often than not lead to the end of a match?

The perfect finisher will keep a match ingrained in a wrestling fan's mind for the rest of their days. We've chosen 10 finishers that packed a wallop throughout the years, and highlighted what makes them so awe-inspiring to fans across the globe to this day.

Perfected By: Golberg, Edge, Roman Reigns, Christian, and more

The Spear may seem like a simple move, but a wrestler driving their entire momentum into an opponent in a flash, sometimes out of nowhere, is the most simple definition of "brutality," especially when you're the one taking a shoulder right to the gut. The mighty Goldberg created the name for the takedown in WCW, and the Spear led the WWE Hall of Famer to an unprecedented 173 victories in a row.

Since Golberg christened "the Spear" as we know it today, many other wrestlers have used the move, including Edge, who made the finisher popular in WWE. His best friend, Christian Cage, uses it as a secondary finisher to his "Unprettier," as a nod to the "Rated-R Superstar." "The Tribal Chief" Roman Reigns also has the move down to a science, and his Spear just looks brutal when it connects with his opponents. It's often preceded by Reign's Superman Punch, leaving an opponent dazed before they even take the finisher. One of the most devastating Spears in recent memory happened at Payback 2023, where current Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley drove then-Tag Team Champion Kevin Owens through the barricade. We don't often see the Spear from Ripley, but she could probably teach a master class in it. Jaw-dropping moments like that are also what make the Spear so raw and powerful.

Perhaps the most memorable, most hard-hitting Spear in the entire history of the move came with Edge's return to WWE after a nine-year hiatus (and presumed retirement) as a surprise entrant in the 2020 Royal Rumble. For those in attendance, that brutal Spear is even more of a treat, as they were the first to actually see the move, as broadcast cameras actually missed the "Rated-R Superstar's" first finisher in years. Thankfully, the footage of one of the most memorable Spears in history exists online, and the mistake has been corrected on Peacock and the WWE Network. 

Perfected By: Brock Lesnar

If you looked up the words "brutal" and "power" in Webster's Dictionary, you could conceivably find photos of Brock Lesnar delivering the F-5 to any of his many victims, from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, to John Cena, to The Rock, to even a shark during that SummerSlam commercial in 2003. There's a list in itself on WWE's YouTube Channel of some of Lesnar's most shocking F-5s ever delivered, and one of the top includes then-Chairman of the Board, Vince McMahon himself. 

The force and fury of the F-5 even inspired a "parody," for lack of a better term, finishing maneuver at the hands of John Cena. An honorable mention on this list for its similarity to the F-5, the "F-U," now known in the PG-era as the "Attitude Adjustment," still takes some brutal power for Cena to get guys up on his shoulders before also sending them crashing to the mat. Though similar, it doesn't compare to Lesnar's F-5.

If the most brutal thing about the F-5 isn't Lesnar's freakish strength, it's the force with which a person is drilled onto the mat almost face-first, and Lesnar does it with such quickness for a big guy. It might take Lesnar more than one bone-rattling F-5 to end a match sometimes, but then again, sometimes the "Beast Incarnate" is just playing with weaker opponents and delivers multiple moves. Following inevitable trips to Suplex City during a match with Lesnar, a final F-5 or two seals the deal for a Lesnar victory.

Perfected By: Randy Orton

The RKO is a move so good, so raw, and brutally powerful, that it's become a classic meme for wrestling fans due to the way Randy Orton executes it from out of nowhere. If you ask any wrestling fan, there's a great chance they'll have a favorite RKO moment. One common choice happened at WrestleMania 31, when Orton hit the RKO from truly out of nowhere as a counter to Seth Rollins' Stomp, but there are so many perfectly delivered RKOs to choose from. It's also worth acknowledging WWE Hall of Famer "Diamond" Dallas Page though, as his "Diamond Cutter" version of the move first popularized it in America.

The RKO may not seem like it requires brute strength, but what makes it so terribly dangerous is Orton's ability to keep his opponents on his toes by way of hitting it (*in a Michael Cole voice*) from outta nowhere! On a serious note, the RKO is so devastating a finisher, that it's actually injured its purveyor to the point of needing back fusion surgery, leaving him out of action for well over a year as of this writing.

Orton has said the injury is due to performing the RKO and that he wishes he could "go back in time" and create a new move. Here's hoping when the third-generation star returns to the ring, he comes back with an equally as brutal finisher, but that we selfishly still get to see the RKO in moments it would mean the most.

Perfected By: Beth Phoenix

The "Glamazon" was a force to be reckoned with in the women's division, a Chyna of the Divas' Era, if you will, and that's in part due to her raw and brutal finisher The Glam Slam. Phoenix's sheer strength and domination is what put her, rightly so, in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017, and the Glamazon helped usher in the Women's Revolution, leading to women's wrestling in WWE as we know it now.

The Glam Slam sends a competitor face-first into the mat, and when Phoenix first started with the company and the women's division was still based more on looks than athletic ability, sending women crashing into the mat where she could break her nose, kayfabe, or not, was a pretty big deal. The Glamazon has also hit plenty of Glam Slams on men, as well, most recently, Dominik Mysterio back in February during a feud against The Judgment Day with her husband Edge. Phoenix has also gone on record to say her favorite person to hit with the Glam Slam was Dolph Ziggler.

Perhaps the most hard-hitting Glam Slam of all was taken by Eve Torres during a Survivor Series match in 2011 for the Divas Championship. While Torres was positioned on the top rope, Phoenix used her brute strength to slam the star down to the mat while standing on the second rope, in a Glam Slam for the ages. In a 2019 interview with Ring the Belle, Phoenix admitted the epic Glam Slam wasn't planned, and she and Torres took a risk — women's wrestling fans around the world are glad they did.

Perfected By: Undertaker & Kane

The Tombstone is a move so brutal, that it's rarely seen these days, but wrestling fans, especially those who grew up in the '80s and '90s, will absolutely remember The Undertaker and Kane's sheer power of getting another man up, swinging them around so they're upside down, and then dropping to their knees.

The move sends an opponent down headfirst into the mat. When executed perfectly, the move looks absolutely devastating. It was dangerous enough to opponents that Undertaker later adopted The Last Ride as a finishing maneuver, because guys were reportedly getting banged up taking the Tombstone. Both Kane and Undertaker have spoken about the difficulty of pulling off the brutal move themselves, and its risks and rewards, including not being great for the deliverer's knees.

"We're talking about 300 plus pounds individuals? That ain't the easiest maneuver in the entire world to pull off. If it starts going one way, it's going to keep on going that way," Kane has previously said about the momentum of the Tombstone. When Kane debuted in 1997 and adopted the move, he executed it faster than 'Taker, leading fans to call his version more of a "snap Tombstone," a powerful move made more raw with the quickness of its delivery.

Perfected By: Triple H, Seth Rollins,

The Pedigree is one of the most famous finishing moves in WWE history, utilized first by Triple H and adopted by many, including Seth Rollins. Cody Rhodes has also been known to hit the raw and brutal finishing move, sending opponents face-first into the mat to end a match, jarring their neck.

It's a devastating move for that reason, and also powerful in a sense that some wrestlers, Triple H included, can get some good height when hitting it, making it all the more lethal in the middle of the ring.

"In my mind, I thought it was always something very unique that I had never seen done before. It sort of slowly evolved into me hooking the arms behind the guy's back and jumping up and having them come down, full body, face first," Triple H explained in a video with WWE on Fox in 2020. He also explained he saw a clip of Andre the Giant doing the Pedigree for the first time in Japan.

Perfected By: Seth Rollins

The Stomp is the definition of brutality when it comes to finishing moves in the wrestling industry. Originally called "The Curb Stomp" when Rollins began using it, the move is exactly what you visualize. Rollins waits until his opponent is down, almost for the count, on the mat in the middle of the ring, and just stomps on their head, smashing it into the mat. The move was so hard-hitting that, for a time, the Stomp was banned in WWE by Vince McMahon.

Rollins has said that following his first victory at WrestleMania, McMahon told him "no more," and Rollins adopted Triple H's Pedigree as a finisher. Rollins said he later had another conversation with McMahon about the Stomp and "made sure to explain ... why bringing back the move would be ideal in a way that he could understand." "Time heals all wounds. Whatever had wounded him, he was over it. So, he said, 'Alright, bring it back,' and here we are," Rollins said.

Thankfully time healed whatever wound the stomp had on McMahon, or maybe he just forgot he previously banned it, but we're certainly glad this finisher is back, because Rollins executes it with such force and power. Here, we would also like to give an honorable mention to Randy Orton's Punt, another move banned by WWE for its sheer devastation.

Perfected By: Kenny Omega

There is no other finishing move so brutal and powerful (outside of maybe the Go To Sleep, and the story behind the controversy of that has issues of its own) that it inspired an entire feud over its use. A finisher very few people have kicked out of, including its master himself, Kenny Omega, and one of the only other men to continue the match after taking one, Kota Ibushi. 

The One-Winged Angel is a breathtaking move that requires sheer power for Omega to get larger guys up on one shoulder and slam them to the mat. Its brutality has been discussed across the internet, including various Reddit threads of fans discussing just how protected the finisher is.

Omega created the move while working for NJPW, and the power of the maneuver became somewhat legendary in the business before "The Cleaner" made his way to America and AEW. For the video game nerds out there, which Omega has never been shy about being one himself, the move is inspired by a "Final Fantasy" character with ungodly power who is near unbeatable across various games.

Perfected By: Kharma/Awesome Kong

Known as one of the scariest Divas in WWE history, though her run with the company was very short, Kharma, better known as Awesome Kong on the independent scene and in TNA/Impact, has one of the most brutal finishers ever seen in women's wrestling. To hit the move, Kong gets her opponents up in the air, upside down and facing away from her, so she can slam them down to the mat, face and chest first.

It's been said the two-time Knockouts Champion actually did rupture implants with the move during one of her runs with the company. Kong is one of the most dominant powerhouses to ever grace any women's division, and the Implant Buster proves her brute strength.

Though her time with WWE was short-lived, she introduced fans to a different kind of female star that had never been seen in the company prior, some may say, even surpassing the power of Chyna. In great news for fans of Kong, it has been announced she will be returning to the ring for Impact 1000 on September 9, for the first time in three years. Her opponent has yet to be revealed, but there's a great chance we'll get to see the raw and brutal power of the Implant Buster once again.

Perfected By: Big Show, Undertaker, Kane and more

Finally on our list, the most simple finishing maneuver, the Chokeslam takes a good amount of strength to get an opponent up off the mat, using only one hand around their neck. Taking a Chokeslam has to be brutal as well, with all the wind being knocked out of you as you come down to the mat, taking a back bump.

Simple, but devastating, Mick Foley has even claimed to have once spit up blood after taking the move from The Undertaker, and it wasn't even the end of their match. Or off the top of a steel cage. Kevin Owens has also recalled his worst bump being a Chokeslam from Braun Strowman onto the ramp at SummerSlam in 2018. Many wrestlers use this move to set up their finisher, but others can simply end the match with just one, with the back bump being enough to knock the wind out of an opponent to lay down for the three count. 

There are plenty of other unique finishers that display raw and brutal power across all companies, WWE, NJPW, AEW, Impact, or your favorite independent promotion, included. But these are 10 absolutely brutal finishing maneuvers we as wrestling fans have seen throughout the years that remain ingrained in our memory, that have created such special, unforgettable moments. While we wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of any of these moves, the respect for the men and women who have taken them is immense.